Friends of an Iowa City teen who died when she lost control of her moped will make another attempt at changing Iowa law to require young riders to wear helmets.

“Last year, we planted the seed,” Olivia Lofgren, now a St. Ambrose University student, said about an attempt to convince state legislators to require moped operators and risers younger than 18 to wear helmets.

This year, she hopes lawmakers will be more receptive to the idea that is “just about protecting children,” she said.

Lofgren’s friend and high school classmate, Caroline Found, 17, died in August 2011 after the moped she was operating struck a curb near a curve on Mormon Trek Boulevard in Iowa City and then struck a tree in the median.

Lofgren and others will meet with a Senate Transportation Subcommittee Thursday to call for passage of Senate File 37. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sens. Joe Bolkcom, Bob Dvorsky, Rob Hogg, Jack Hatch, Matt McCoy and Herman Quirmbach, would require a person younger than 18 years of age to wear a safety helmet when operating a motorized bicycle. A violation would be a simple misdemeanor punishable by a scheduled fine of $100.